Something special, sexy and wonderful; French house DJ, turned producer and Outcross Record label owner Miguel Campbell, one half of MAM, blends smooth, future disco boogie beats over techno, house-inspired soul.
Putting-out early releases via Lee Foss and Jamie Jones’ imprint ‘Hot Creations’, Miguel Campbell can now be found teaming-up with friend and producer Matt Hughes and together they make ‘MAM’. Both heavily influenced by Daft Punk and by classic soul, the wavy house duo have been working on MAM (aka Just A Man and Another Man) since 2007 and are now proud to unveil their highly anticipated Modern Heat EP, via FINA. To coincide with our Miguel megamix i-D online caught-up with FINA label owners Simon Morell and Matt Long to chat rave, deep Move D and heavy bass.
Who are your strongest musical influences and references? We are both influenced by a variety of labels, artists and scenes, which I think is reflected in all our releases so far. I got into rave at a really young age via my older sister. I used to collect old mix tapes by Sasha, Joey Beltram and Carl Cox and from there progressed to deep house via labels like Seasons, Drop, Pagan, Toko and Guidance. People like Charles Webster and Salt City Orchestra were a massive influence. Matt was still quite young around this time and was heavily into guitar music, playing in bands till he discovered electronic music from the likes of Tiga and Felix the House Cat. Musically we are both really open and influenced by a lot and like to experiment with different sounds, from deep Move D house to new UK bass sounds of Eliphino.
What are some of the barriers you’ve encountered whilst establishing FINA? We think artists are a little cautious to release on new labels these days. It’s all about getting on the coolest label and making money off the back of gigs. I suppose the digital revolution has got a lot to do with that. We’ve been quite lucky to sign both fresh and established artists from the beginning as we already had relationships with the people we signed.
How do describe the aesthetic and ethos of the label? We want to release forward thinking music, we’re not afraid to experiment with different influences styles’ or tempos’ It’s important to keep things fresh and exciting otherwise I think we’d just get bored.
Who would you say is the strongest artist you have signed to the label? We’ve been pestering MAM for about 8 months and in this time they’ve totally blown up which is great for them and us. Roberto Rodriguez did our third release, which was our biggest to date, and really helped our profile. Move D loved the Leif EPso much that he asked if he could remix the track to which we obviously agreed to.
What are some of the up-and-coming D.I.Y record labels you tip for great things in 2012? In 2011 we were really digging stuff that was coming out onsomethinksounds, Hessle Audio, Futureboogie, Wolf Music and Firecracker I think these guys will continue to release forward thinking music in 2012.
What are your plans for expansion? This year we want to start getting the FINA brand out more. We’ve just confirmed a Sonar party alongside Electric Minds and Warm Agency, which is going to be amazing. We’re also planning label parties in Leeds and London, launching a monthly podcast and making a change in direction of the artwork.
Text: Milly McMahon
Photography: Bella Howard
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